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Who besides MECO sells parts for the 600gph rowpu systems

Philratcliffe

Member
158
9
18
Location
Florida
Hi guys. I’ve been in contact with meco. They sent me the parts Tm for the 600gph rowpu I just bought. I sent them all the parts numbers of what I need and they could only cross reference about 80% of the parts to their own part numbers. The ones they could identify and cross reference they are now waiting for parts prives and availability. It’s been days and my water bill here is killing me so I’m very anxious to get all the O rings and inter connectors that goes between the two ro membranes.
I heard someone talk about watech and looked them up but the one I found is in india so want to confirm it’s the correct place or to see if they have a u.s. location. Thanks in advance for any info you can share
 

Philratcliffe

Member
158
9
18
Location
Florida
I wrote a while back, that WATEC also might be able to help.
Hi guyfang. I found a phone number for WATECH in an online parts catalog of theirs, I called them but their phone is disconnected!!!
I found a Watech in india, is that the correct company?
I thought it would be an American company due to the equipment being u.s. military.
Do you have a contact number or web address or email for Watech? Thanks !
 

Philratcliffe

Member
158
9
18
Location
Florida
I wrote a while back, that WATEC also might be able to help.
I spoke with MECO again today but I don’t know how much of the stuff I ordered they can cross reference. They said the unit is so old.
What I need most are the four 5 gallon plastic Gerry cans the hold the chemicals for
The water making progress and the inter connector that connects the two membranes to each other in the center and all the prong for the membrane inner and outer connectors and the end caps of the membrane tubes which have several orings. I go to the states in a week so wangling to find a couple big orings suppliers and send them each samples to match up. The might be better at measuring amd sizing rubber orings than I am. Thanks again for any info guyfang
 

DieselAddict

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
2,532
2,059
113
Location
Efland, NC
Do you know how old the membranes are and how they are stored? Are they wet or dry?

Do you have any of the interconnects? Can you take some measurements? The interconnect pipes come with membranes when you buy them. You get one in the box with each membrane. I can see if we have any spares at work assuming they are the correct size. I can also ask one of the local companies we get parts from if they have any extras.

What other parts are you having trouble finding?

We are doing an expansion at work right now and are putting in a new MECO RO skid / multi-effect distillation skid. I design pharma water systems for a living. MECO is one of the national players in that space. Aquchem and MECO make a lot of stuff for the military.
 

Philratcliffe

Member
158
9
18
Location
Florida
Do you know how old the membranes are and how they are stored? Are they wet or dry?

Do you have any of the interconnects? Can you take some measurements? The interconnect pipes come with membranes when you buy them. You get one in the box with each membrane. I can see if we have any spares at work assuming they are the correct size. I can also ask one of the local companies we get parts from if they have any extras.

What other parts are you having trouble finding?

We are doing an expansion at work right now and are putting in a new MECO RO skid / multi-effect distillation skid. I design pharma water systems for a living. MECO is one of the national players in that space. Aquchem and MECO make a lot of stuff for the military.
Wow that’s awesome you work with this stuff for a living it’s all new to me although may father had a small system on his boat.
my unit came with 8 new membranes in the box but they don’t have any connectors included.
I need the four inter connectors that joint the two membranes in the middle and I’m missing the strainer for the backwash pump and the strainer for the end of the intake pump. I am also missing the four 5 gallon plastic Gerry cans that hold the chlorine and other chemicals used in the process. I have some 20 gallon plastic water jugs I want to use instead of the Gerry can I’m looking for a small check ball I can put on the end of the suction hoses for the chemical tanks. I have never seen what type of plumbing is in those 5 gallon tanks and to buy them from meco would probably be thousands of dollars. Meco wants 3400 dollars per membrane I found them for 600 and there are some on eBay for 215 dollars but was worried it might be a cheap china copy. I plan to buy a spare set as soon as get mine running and I’m going to buy 155mm’s rowpu for spares too
I called meco and they are nuts. I want to replace all the orings for the outer membrane connectors so 16 Orings for the 8 connectors. The parts Tm shows a diff PN for the outer connector and inner connector orings!
Meco wanted 570 dollars each for the outer orings And a mere 550 dollars each for the inter connector orings I couldn’t believe those prices. I found 7 of the inners on eBay for 12 bucks and 5 of the outer orings rings that are some type of nylon or plastic material they only had 6 tho. So I’m cleaning and inspecting the old liters and should have enough for the outers. The four center connectors that join the two membranes is my only real hold up. I’m plumbing my system now and organizing tanks to store 3k gallons of brine water for back wash and I have a 20k gallon cement water tank.
I have a question. Where I have my unit located is about 25 mts from the ocean. The sea floor is very flat so I would have to go out like 90 meters or more to have 2 mts of depth. Another hotel on thenislamd has a huge fiberglass tank in the ocean but it’s in their small marina so the sea is copan there. Where I am there is tons of sand carried but the water. I don’t want to ruin the bronze raw water pump by sand and small coral being sucked into it. Do you think having a really long intake tube in the ocean will cause me problems? Will a simple strainer be enough to protect the raw water pump? I’m going to run a large pool sand filter after the raw water pump and in front of the rowpu to keep the cartridge and multi media filters clean as long as possible.
That would be awesome if you can help me locate the center connectors. According to the specs the membrane inlet and oilers are both 1.5” OD. Even if I can find one I can have other made to it’s dimension. I have called a bunch of places and have several companies trying to find me a set of 4 of them and 16 new orings. Any idea where I might be able to buy the two strainers I’m missing I think I can find the strainer for the backwash pump on amazon the intake tube strainer might be hard to find. I haven’t been able to locate either by the part numbers so far. Thanks so much for your help!
 

Philratcliffe

Member
158
9
18
Location
Florida
Looks like the company is now listed for sale:

For Sale by Owner
Watec Corporation - Delaware
EIN 27-3075324
Purchase Price $5,000,000
Bill Maier 843.910.0076
T. Mitchell Langdon 843.910.1413
The website is just a bunch of Chinese letters currently. I will try the phone number thanks for your help as always!
 

DieselAddict

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
2,532
2,059
113
Location
Efland, NC
You should be able to source the o-rings locally from an industrial supplier. You will want to use peroxide cured EPDM for any of the rubber o-rings. Those are the most durable in this application. Here in this area we can get them off the shelf from RaleighDurham Rubber and Gasket.

Can you post a photo of the plastic seals you are referring to? They may not be seals but may be spacers for the membranes. If they are seals its almost guaranteed to be PTFE. Also post photos of your interconnect pieces you have. There were two versions of those. The old ones have double o-rings but the newer ones are singles. I'm curious to see which one you have.

$600 is the right price range for a 4" membrane. Make sure they are thin film composite and not cellulose acetate.

The part that goes on the end of the chemical suction lines is called a "foot valve". A totally generic part that you should be able to find pretty easily. Just get the one that fits the tubing size you are using and you'll be fine. Same with strainers. I recommend over-sizing them in regards to the body/line size. You'll get a larger strainer basket. You'll need to get the correct mesh size for what you are trying to keep out. But remember the smaller the mesh the easier it will be to clog. Some good info to get you started here - https://www.heatric.com/home/heatric-services/services-strainers/guidelines-for-strainers/

I would keep as much sand out of the RAW water pump as possible. Having a long inlet pipe will be a problem and puts the pump at risk of cavitation. That can cause as much damage as debris. If this is going to be a long term solution for you I would recommend using a settling tank for the incoming seawater like your neighbor is using. Ideally you should use a semi-trash pump to draw your seawater into the settling tank or even better if you can make your tank a gravity fill (again like your neighbor). Draw your RO feedwater above where the sand and junk settles. You'll save yourself a LOT of hassle fixing stuff later.
 

Philratcliffe

Member
158
9
18
Location
Florida
You should be able to source the o-rings locally from an industrial supplier. You will want to use peroxide cured EPDM for any of the rubber o-rings. Those are the most durable in this application. Here in this area we can get them off the shelf from RaleighDurham Rubber and Gasket.

Can you post a photo of the plastic seals you are referring to? They may not be seals but may be spacers for the membranes. If they are seals its almost guaranteed to be PTFE. Also post photos of your interconnect pieces you have. There were two versions of those. The old ones have double o-rings but the newer ones are singles. I'm curious to see which one you have.

$600 is the right price range for a 4" membrane. Make sure they are thin film composite and not cellulose acetate.

The part that goes on the end of the chemical suction lines is called a "foot valve". A totally generic part that you should be able to find pretty easily. Just get the one that fits the tubing size you are using and you'll be fine. Same with strainers. I recommend over-sizing them in regards to the body/line size. You'll get a larger strainer basket. You'll need to get the correct mesh size for what you are trying to keep out. But remember the smaller the mesh the easier it will be to clog. Some good info to get you started here - https://www.heatric.com/home/heatric-services/services-strainers/guidelines-for-strainers/

I would keep as much sand out of the RAW water pump as possible. Having a long inlet pipe will be a problem and puts the pump at risk of cavitation. That can cause as much damage as debris. If this is going to be a long term solution for you I would recommend using a settling tank for the incoming seawater like your neighbor is using. Ideally you should use a semi-trash pump to draw your seawater into the settling tank or even better if you can make your tank a gravity fill (again like your neighbor). Draw your RO feedwater above where the sand and junk settles. You'll save yourself a LOT of hassle fixing stuff later.
Can you send me your email and I will send you pics of the unusual looking orings.
how deep is the minimum a settling tank needs to be to function property.
where can I purchase the strainers. this will be a permanent system used daily for the next 20+ years. We use about 20k gallons every 8-10 days
 
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